The glass panel mounting structure of the present invention provides a continuous support means for a plurality of glass panels, as employed in a glass panel railing, a continuous adjustment means along the support means, and a continuous clamp means to clamp and maintain the glass panels in a perfectly aligned, vertical attitude relative to each other.
It is a well known fact that building structures generally are formed to a sufficiently accurate degree to be pleasing to the eye, yet, when a straight edge or level, for example, is applied to the surfaces of the structure, varying degrees of inaccuracies are generally disclosed. Without a means to compensate for these inaccuracies, a glass panel railing, following the natural contours, will generally display and often amplify the inaccuracies. Even when the support structures are embedded in slots, grooves or the like as are some forms of the aforementioned Patent, the inaccuracies are apparent because such slots, grooves, etc., are generally formed by cutting tools which follow the surface contours. When a plurality of spaced apart anchors, as in the first form of the Patent, are to be embedded in the original structure, it is also extremely difficult to maintain a consistantly perfect degree of accuracy.
It is therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide a glass panel railing, formed of a plurality of aligned glass panels, which includes mounting means and adjustment means along the length of the run of panels to accurately orient the panels in a perfectly aligned, vertical disposition.
A further object of this invention is to provide a clamp means to permanently maintain the panels in the desired, aligned attitude.
Another object of the invention is to provide mounting means for fixed attachment to a vertically disposed surface.
A still further object of the instant invention is to provide an alternative mounting means for fixed attachment to a transversely horizontal surface in both inclined and longitudinally horizontal attitudes.
Another object of the invention is to provide pad engagement means between the glass panels and all metal elements of the support, adjustment and clamp means.